Spoiler Warning: Scream (2022)Young actress Jenna Ortega is this generation's rising star. At just 19 years old, she has starred in multiple films in leading roles within two years, including four horror movies such as this year's blockbuster hit Scream and A24’s film X. She will also be playing the lead as Wednesday Addams in Netflix's upcoming mini-series, Wednesday.
Ortega started acting in more minor, supporting roles, including playing young Jane in Jane the Virgin. However, her major break into mainstream media was when she starred as Ellie in season two of Netflix’s You alongside Penn Badgely. She captured critics and viewers alike who praised her performance as Badgley’s fifteen-year-old neighbor whom he befriends, with Ortega dipping her toes into the thriller genre.
Ortega began her horror journey in a supporting role in Insidious 2 but had her breakthrough horror performance as Phoebe in Netflix’s The Babysitter: Killer Queen. This was her first leading role in the Netflix horror-comedy that brought her mainstream success and exposure to a broader audience. Ortega showed audiences her acting range and potential to perform in multiple genres, such as Phoebe, a goth high schooler who tries to survive the wrath of the protagonists' satanic babysitter and the other cult members. Even though the film was negatively reviewed, fans still enjoyed the addition of Ortega, excitedly ready to see her in future horror projects.
After her success in a leading role as Tara Carpenter in the fifth installment of Scream, along with Studio 666 and A24's X, Ortega has cemented herself that fans have called Neve Campbell, Sarah Michelle Geller, and Jamie Lee Curtis -- a scream queen.
Jenna Ortega's Scream Queen Status
While Ortega starred in the family-friendly movie Yes Day, released in 2021 alongside Jennifer Garner, her biggest blockbuster hit was her in the leading role as Tara in the fifth installment of the Scream franchise released earlier this year. Not only was it critically praised, but it also became a blockbuster hit, taking over Spider-Man: No Way Home for the number one slot. She reached an even wider audience who became familiar with the young actress, applauding her role as a victim of Ghostface, who at the end was able to take him down alongside fellow scream queen, Neve Campbell.
Ortega was appreciated for her opening sequence, in which she pays homage to Drew Barrymore's opening sequence from the first Scream (1996). As for her role, she was quoted in an interview with MTV News saying,
“To do something like this, over ten years after the last installment, it’s important to keep people interested and keep things new and fresh,” Ortega explains. “So yes, ‘pay your respects, pay homage, it’s necessary! But how is this going to be different from the rest?’ And I tried to keep that in mind during filming.”
A month later, Ortega was seen starring in another horror-comedy film Studio 666, alongside Foo Fighters Dave Grohl as Skye, a member of the fictional band Dream Widow. While not a financial success, the movie is considered a passion project for Grohl that will instantly become a cult classic that continues to cement Ortega as a scream queen.
Additionally, Ortega stars in A24’s X, a slasher that also stars Mia Goth and Brittany Snow. Directed and written by Ti West, X is set in 1979 and about a group of young filmmakers who set out to make an adult film in rural Texas. But when their reclusive, elderly hosts catch them in the act, the cast finds themselves fighting for their lives. The X trailer featured plenty of screams and terror from the scream queen herself.
Upcoming Scream Queen Projects
It was announced last year in May that Ortega had been cast as Wednesday Addams in Netflix's Wednesday, a live-action series directed by Tim Burton. A role previously held by Christina Ricci, Ortega also made the casting announcement on her Instagram, which co-stars Catherine Zeta-Jones and is described as a coming-of-age mystery-comedy that follows Wednesday years as a student at Nevermore Academy. That’s where she attempts to master her emerging psychic ability, thwart a monstrous killing spree that has terrorized the local town, and solve the supernatural mystery that embroiled her parents 25 years ago — all while navigating her new and very tangled relationships. It was also recently announced by Netflix that Ricci herself is set to return as a series regular in Wednesday. Although her role is under wraps, the recent casting announcement has led to more anticipation and excitement for the upcoming series.
While viewers may need to wait for Wednesday to be released later this year, fans can catch the scream queen in X, which is currently playing only in theaters.